When is a little competition TOO much competition?

When your audience is really getting into your game show, that's generally a good thing. The teams are cohesive and working together, the adrenaline is flowing, emotion is high...but sometimes things get a bit, well, out of control.

We were recently hosting a game show event and coaching the game show host on how to get the teams pumped up. There are several ways to do this:

1. Get teams cheering (call out teams/team names and ask them if they're ready to play/if they're going to win)

2. Recap scores

3. Reveal prizes

4. Raise the stakes

But when we started playing the game show, we found that our worries about getting the audience into the game were completely unfounded. The audience was coming off 7 hours of training and content, and they were *ready* to compete and ready to play. (It didn't hurt that they were sales people and competitive by nature.) It was a little overwhelming. Our concern about getting them cheering quickly turned into concern for our neighboring rooms.

So when things get a little too rowdy, what can you do? Here are some tips:

1. Slow down the game play. Take a moment to get to know the team captains.

2. Ask more involved questions. Go outside multiple-choice/rapid-fire questions and get into a meatier open-ended question scenario.

3. Keep prizes small. We find that keeping prizes small doesn't usually mitigate the enthusiasm, but it does keep the competition from getting nasty.

4. Turn down the volume. Sometimes just asking for half-volume can keep the energy up while keeping the disruption down.

3 Game Show Host Goof-Ups

Being a game show host can be an incredibly fun way to interact with your trainees, or get your name out within a company (volunteering to host a large-scale game at an event, for instance). However, hosting isn't always an easy feat. Here are a few ways in which we see game show hosts go wrong:

1. Not Knowing the Rules: This seems like a basic thing, but a host being unclear on the finer points of the game show rules can lead to a chaotic or less-than-ideal experience for the game show participants. This is especially true as you customize your game show and add multiple rounds with multipliers (i.e. points are doubled!) or rule variations.

2. Getting Down on Wrong Answers: Nothing is more discouraging than being in a learning game situation and being mocked or ridiculed (no matter how gently) for putting yourself out there and answering a question. Most trainers have a good sense of appropriate feedback, but sometimes an outside-the-training-department host won't have a similar taste for protocol.

3. Not Encouraging Teams: If a game is set up cleverly, there's always a chance for a team that is behind to catch up--be it in a wager round, bonus points, etc. However, it can be easy for a team to forget this when they see such a glaring disparity in scores. It's the host's job to remind the teams of the stakes and preview rounds where they may have a good chance to catch up.

Is your game show a speedbump or a smooth operator?

After doing hundreds of game show training sessions, we've picked up quite a few best practices for structuring the game show event.

One tip: Game shows sprinkled throughout a longer session can keep the trainees' energy high, refresh engagement, and add important review points.

However, this sometimes worked better than other times. Occasionally the game show question set would seem like an interruption--or the energy just never picked up like we expected it to.

What was the problem? The game show was a speed bump and not an integrated part of the training.

Why was this happening?

We were asking single questions, or questions in groups of two. The audience never had time to get back "in" to the game show experience. Instead they answered one question (that had little overall consequence), cheered a little, and went back to the training material dutifully.

The rule of three seemed to apply; when we asked questions in groups of three or more, the energy would build progressively. Participants became more engaged with the questions, and the energy and engagement lasted through the next training session until the next set of questions (which were inevitably greeted with more enthusiasm than the single-question-sets).

In short: Give your game show enough significant time for the audience to get into the game play. Ask at least three questions in a set and you'll reap the rewards of increased engagement throughout your training session.

You're Using a Game Show for THAT?!

When we talk to customers, we're always surprised at the broad range of content/material they incorporate into the game shows.

We were even more surprised as we uncovered that some trainers were using game shows to cover very traditionally sensitive/serious topics: sexual harassment, diversity training, etc. Topics where one wouldn't normally see people cheering, or --heaven forbid-- having fun.

I asked one trainer--a coordinator for student living on a college campus--why they were using game shows to train students on recognizing and reporting sexual assault. This was his response: "The subject is very serious and VERY important. However, we need to have an open dialog about it, and playing the game show diffuses the tension inherent in the room. People feel more open."

Here are some of the reasons why playing a game show with sensitive subject matter can be beneficial:

Your content is serious, but YOU don't have to be. Just because the content is serious, doesn't mean you have to take yourself seriously. It's okay to have fun--even in sensitive situations. Obviously, one doesn't want to be irreverent to the point of offensiveness--and pre-framing so that the content isn't trivialized is important--but adding competition to engage the audience is no crime.

The more important the subject, the more important the retention. It's critically important that employees know how to recognize harassment in the workplace. If the training is not engaging, they're less likely to remember the content. Game shows are a proven strategy for increasing attention and retention. Even though the content is serious, having a dry, non-engaging training session may jeopardize the content itself.

Games diffuse tension. No one likes to talk about personnel issues, for instance, but sometimes an open dialog is absolutely necessary. The friendly competition of playing a game breaks the ice and diffuses the tension in the room; allowing a trainer to segue into a deeper discussion.

The Top 5 Reasons They're Not Answering Your Game Show Questions

It's game time. Your game show is all ready to go. The content is in place, the ring-in devices are handy. You read the first question and. . .

. . . no one is ringing in to answer. The answer timer counts down in silence (with maybe a little prompting from the host; "Anyone? Anyone know the answer? Ring in..."). You reveal the answer and move on to the next question, thinking it's a fluke response. Again, the proverbial crickets chirp in place of audience responses!

So what happened? Game shows are pretty much guaranteed to generate energy and excitement in the classroom. Are your trainees just really, really shy? Out of coffee? Something else?

Here are the top 5 reasons we've found for the occasional audience-wide silence in response to game show questions.

1. The questions are too tough. Complexity is not a question's friend. If it takes contestants too long to process what you're actually trying to ask--the clock is going to tick away with nary a response. Avoid the complicated word-problem questions, questions that actually ask multiple questions (or ask you to fill in multiple blanks) or questions with many layers of information or qualification required.

Similarly, if it takes contestants too long to figure out a difficult solution to a question, the question should either be simplified or used in a less rapid-fire format. (I.e. Instead of a Categories-style game, an untimed Tic-Tac-Toe game might be more appropriate.)

Once, we had a presenter who spoke for 90 minutes and then wanted to play a game show to review her content. When the time came for the audience to answer the questions, no one was ringing in. She had covered the content, but it was too complex for the audience to absorb without a simpler review.

Tip: Questions should be not-too-easy (there needs to be some challenge) and not-too-tough (allowing the contestants to grasp the concepts).

2. The content wasn't covered. This is the sister problem of the questions being too tough--if only because content that wasn't covered and isn't with the knowledge base of the audience IS technically too tough.

We once created a game for a training course. It was the first time we had given this course, so we only had a rough idea of the timing. We ended up running long, and had to skip almost the last third of our presentation. We didn't, however, want to skip the energizing post-session game show. As could be expected, the first 2/3 of the game show went really well. . . and the last third had us pleading, "I know we didn't cover this, but try to take a guess?"

Tip: This is where the "end game" feature comes in handy if you're using Gameshow Pro. You can also turn the game show into an open-book game if your trainees have access to materials you haven't reviewed yet.

3. The contestants don't understand the rules. We were once playing a Jeopardy!-style Categories game. A team selected the category and point value. The question was read. No one rang in. When the time ran out, we asked if anyone wanted to take a guess at the answer. As it turns out, the other (non-category-selecting) teams KNEW the answer, but thought that ONLY the team in control of the board was eligible to answer the question. Oops.

Explaining the rules clearly and up front is critical to the success of your game show. If you're using ring-in slammers, the contestants might not know *when* they can start to ring in, or who should ring in, or whether they can ring in after a team answers correctly, or how long they have to decide to ring in, etc.

Tip: Cover the rules after you introduce the game and the stakes--attention will be at its peak. Also, it's helpful to play a sample question to familiarize the audience with how the game is played.


4. Too much pressure. Your whole audience might not be shy, but chances are you'll have a mix of introverted and extroverted people. Playing individualistically can cause particular people to "opt out" of playing the game for fear of embarrassment or simply because they don't want the spotlight on themselves.

Tip: Playing in teams instead of individually is tremendously helpful in mitigating the pressures and stresses that some people may feel. There is an accountability to one's team, but not having the direct responsibility of standing up and giving an answer can be an enormous relief. You may want to designate an outgoing team captain to be the mouthpiece of the group; that way everyone can contribute but only the person who feels comfortable speaking up will be required to do so.

5. Too much risk. You're playing a Jeopardy-style categories game. You've been deducting points for incorrect answers. The scores are very close. It may be a difficult question--one that's worth a lot of points.

The team in the lead doesn't want to give up that lead, and the teams behind them don't want to lose ground. No one wants to take the risk of answering the question, so they let the time slip away. No one gains any points, but no one loses anything, either. This is a somewhat-rare phenomenon, but it does happen.

Tip: Incorporate chances to "catch up" inside the game--like extra bonus and wager questions, or just extra credit things that people can do for extra points.

You may also choose to deduct FEWER points for an incorrect answer than the question is worth. (I.e. Set the penalty at 50 points for each question, whether they're worth 200 points, or 1000.) This way the reward is greater than the risk. You may also set the game to take NO point deductions for wrong answers, if you so desire.

Game Shows at the Trade Show: Drawing a Crowd

Most of our clients and customers use game shows in their training programs. They're ideal for this; increasing content retention and enabling trainers to review, preview and present information in an incredibly engaging format.

However, as we've collected many, many stories and anecdotes from customers, we've discovered some alternate uses outside of the training department. As it turns out, some sales departments use game shows to promote their products to interested parties. Also, marketing teams are deploying game shows on the floor of trade shows.

Having used game shows at trade shows before (the screen cap in this post is from a custom game we designed for Mystic Tan), we can attest to the power of the medium. Game shows:

Attract a crowd: Whether a few people out of a crowd are playing along or everyone in your booth audience is playing along using keypads, game shows naturally attract an audience. Not only do people want to see whether others succeed or not, but they want to test their own knowledge (to see if they're "smarter than the player"--so to speak).

Engage people with your content: Game shows are a great way to uncover "ah-ha!" moments with your product or company by showcasing unique features/benefits in the form of a question. You can use specific content, (i.e. Which of the following is a new product feature, etc.) or general content to drive interest around a topic (i.e. As you see in the screen capture above--the question is tangentially related to tanning, but doesn't cover Mystic Tan's specific product line), or a mixture of both.

Can direct conversations: Game shows can direct meaningful trade show conversations in several ways:

• Booth personnel can listen to a game show round and then follow up with more information while attendees' attention is piqued (i.e. Yes, the new product has this feature...and did you know it allows you to do x, y and z as well?).
• Using audience response pads, you can measure what parts of the audience have knowledge gaps and incorporate survey questions to gauge the level of interest in particular topics or products.

Get people to spend more time at a booth: Game shows not only draw a crowd, but we've seen people who won't stop for a free tchotchke or engage with booth personnel spend large chunks of time at a booth when a game show is involved. And that's more opportunity to get qualified leads!

Game Show Makeovers

A lot of people resolve to make changes in the new year; to try a new hobby, to get more active, to put more effort into their appearance, etc. It's a time for renewal and reevaluation, reflecting on what works and what doesn't and then adjusting accordingly for the future.

Game shows shouldn't escape the resolution revolution--here are ways that you can refresh your existing game shows:

New Game Skins: Sometimes we all need a bit of a makeover. You can put a fresh "skin" on your game board, revamping the look. This can either be an arbitrary design (maybe you'd like a game show with a more retro or more modern feel, for instance) or you can use your game show to further your company's brand--incorporating your logo and company colors into the game board. (To see more about customizing game boards, go here.)


Try a Different Game Show: Most trainers I speak with use the Categories or Jeopardy-style game in their training most often. This is excellent if they have a lot of information that they want to review quickly with a straightforward question-and-answer format. However, different game show formats suit different purposes. Try Tic-Tac-Toe for brainstorming, Classroom Feud for processes and procedures, or Final answer to utilize different resources (i.e. subject matter experts can be "lifelines").

Transform Your Game Show: You don't have to play a game show the existing way or in the existing format. For instance, we've found that using the Tic-Tac-Toe board as a Hollywood Squares-style game show is incredibly effective for teaching information. Because the "expert" is on the spot--and trainees only have to agree or disagree with *their* answer, it gives attendees with little idea of the content a good introduction and base of knowledge.

Add Variety in Existing Game Play: Game shows are ultimately a flexible tool. Change the rules to suit how you want to play. For instance, one of the best examples of modified game play we've seen deals with the training materials themselves. Contestants in the game show were allowed to look up answers in their training manuals and resource books, because in that case knowing *where* to find the answers when they needed them was as important as knowing them right off the top of their head. Playing the game show this way allowed for participants to develop a deep familiarity with the materials that they carried back on the job.

These aren't the only examples, of course, of how to give your game show a makeover--both visually and through the rules and game play. Game show templates offer enough flexibility for you to play them exactly how you NEED to play them to achieve your training goals.

Using Game Shows as an Instructional Tool

Using Game Shows as an Instructional Tool

By Dan Yaman, CEO, and Missy Covington, Communications, LearningWare, Inc.

Republished from eLearn: Best Practices

As more and more corporate and K-12 instructors gravitate towards interactive and attention-grabbing instructional techniques, many are starting to see the intrinsic benefits of using game shows. Our experiences, and those of hundreds of instructors, have shown that when learners play game shows their energy levels surge, they pay attention, and they remember more of the instructional content.

Game shows are an appealing medium—they provide healthy competition, have entertainment value, and are a cultural staple both in the U.S. and internationally. However, many instructors are unable to come up with a practical and justifiable way to use them. They are sometimes met with resistance from skeptical supervisors and financiers. What follows are a few of the most frequently voiced objections and our time-tested responses.

"Game shows aren't serious enough-they're just for fun." Training and teaching is a serious business. It's critical that learners absorb and retain content. Game shows are fun, but they're not just fun for fun's sake—they can engage learners so instructors can get serious messages across.

Using game shows can be a way to convey sensitive or serious material in a way that doesn't intimidate learners. This informal training tool opens up discussion around a topic and can "break the ice," making learners feel at ease in the training session and with the material at hand.

"Our employees or students would never buy into, or get excited about playing a game show." Game shows appeal to learners of all ages. We've personally conducted game shows that were "expected" to fail because the audience "just won't get into it." We've never had an experience (with any audience, ever) where the game show didn't appeal to a majority of the audience. There are a few reasons behind this:

• Everyone loves to compete; people love to show what they know and see if they can answer given questions.
• Game shows are a medium that people of all ages can relate to—nearly everyone has seen a game show in some format. They're easy to understand and pick up without complex instruction.
• Game shows appeal to all learning styles—they allow visual learners to see the question and surrounding information; auditory learners to hear the question and discuss answers; and kinesthetic learners to ring in, cheer, and participate.

"Our content is too complex to fit into a game show format." Information is more readily absorbed when broken into smaller chunks and information groups—as is required in a game show format. We've seen game shows used successfully in every type of training situation—from learning about the American Revolution, to rocket science, to OSHA standards, to general corporate policies and procedures.

"We just don't have time to do this with all the other information we have to teach and assessments we have to give." Any type of training and instruction requires a method of review. Learners need to hear information multiple times in order to retain that information. Game shows can be used in place of an "ordinary" review, or can supplement an already existing review process. Game shows can incorporate pre-existing review exercises like role-plays, quick question-and-answer sessions, and learner demonstrations.

Game shows can also take the place of a formal assessment—many game show software programs allow instructors to record results by individual learners. This method of assessment can be less stressful and more accessible than traditional paper-and-pencil methods.

How to Use Game Shows
Game shows are used most frequently in three basic ways: previewing information, reviewing information, and as an energizing event. How an instructor uses a game show depends on the type of content they're presenting and the structure of their information session.

Using game shows as a preview mechanism in a training session can make trainees aware of their gaps, generate curiosity for an upcoming topic, and let instructors know what they need to cover in depth (and what they can skip over). "Family Feud"-style game shows work well for previewing information since you can ask questions that have multiple answers. For instance, you could build interest in a topic like customer-service policy by asking: "What are our customers' top-five complaints?" When previewing information with game shows, be "forgiving" about right or wrong answers, and consider eliminating (or minimizing) penalties for wrong answers.

Game shows are among the most powerful content-review tools around. They're great for assessment and test preparation, or for just a quick recap. Use game shows as a quick review immediately before an exam to alleviate test anxiety and refresh learners' minds. Review after a long training session to "cement" the content in trainees' brains and to provide an emotionally compelling final event.

Almost any game show can be used to review information, but for a quick-fire review session we like to use a Jeopardy!-style game show. This rapid question-answer format allows instructors to cover a lot of information in a short period of time, and as point-levels increase, they can increase the difficulty level of their questions. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", Tic-Tac-Toe, College Bowl, and "Wheel of Fortune"-style game shows also work well for reviewing information-and most can accommodate both short-answer and multiple-choice questions.

There's nothing wrong with using a game show to simply raise the energy level in a classroom or training session. Play a quick, fast-paced game show (like "Jeopardy!") with content that may be one level easier than you would usually use. The purpose is to "warm up" your audience and give them a positive, successful experience—not to stump them. We've also played ice breaker game shows that have nothing to do with the content at hand-using current-event or pop-culture trivia.

A Unique Experience
However an instructor chooses to use them, game shows provide learners with an experience unlike anything else. They motivate learners to pay attention during a training session, they engage and captivate the audience like no other training method, and—most importantly—they are a tool with which instructors can deliver and elaborate on their content. Most instructors know that teaching isn't just about standing up and lecturing anymore—today's learners crave interaction and excitement. As a result, game shows are a practical addition to an instructor's toolkit.

About the Authors
Dan Yaman, CEO, and Missy Covington, Communications, of LearningWare, Inc. have created and consulted on thousands of game shows in hundreds of training scenarios over the years. They are also authors of the book, I'll Take Learning for 500: Using Game Shows to Engage, Motivate and Train.

Online Training's Got Game

Dan Hannan, a safety trainer and consultant, who uses Gameshow Pro for his clients recently wrote an article on using games in safety training.

The article, which highlights both Gameshow Pro and other virtual or manual gaming devices for safety training, is available here: Online Training's Got Game.

The text is also mostly intact here:

Online Training's Got Game

Constructed and used properly, gaming activities are highly effective tools for educating on virtually any topic. We can all probably remember having fun with family or friends playing board games, card games or something else on a rainy day or late at night. For me, I got caught-up in the Trivial Pursuit craze of the mid and late 1980’s. In fact, I can still remember several of the questions that I answered incorrectly en-route to loosing—and that was over 25 years ago. That is the power of a game—engaging, entertaining, extremely memorable—and and all the while they’re educating. Take these principles and apply them to some aspect of the working world, say health and safety, and you have a formula for creating “knowledge with staying power”.
The potential power of gaming activities for learning purposes, or game-based learning (GBL), became was realized about 10 years ago. Since that time, many white papers have been written touting increased retention rates of training material where gaming activities were used. The use of custom custom-developed, interactive video games for workplace training has earned the term “serious games”. Video game simulation training is now being utilized on everything from retail sales to flying drone airplanes on a battlefield. Virtual environments enable employees to interact and engage in situations in advance of “going live”. This allows an employee to learn about them self—; their ability to make decisions, be confronted (by other characters), it tests their knowledge in a very engaging way, and they can ultimately learn from a variety of different simulated interactions.
Apart from training simulations, video gaming has become a multi-billion dollar industry. To better understand the entertainment and learning potential of this media, Microsoft Research and a consortium of university partners have formed the Games for Learning Institute (G4LI). G4LI is, a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional gaming research alliance seeking evidence to support games as learning tools for math and science subjects among middle-school students. With its research, G4LI hopes to identify which qualities elements of within video games engage students and then develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process. The consortium partners include Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), Dartmouth College, Parsons, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Teachers College.
“Technology has the potential to help reinvent the education process, and excite and inspire young learners to embrace science, math and technology,” said Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft. “The Games for Learning Institute is a great example of how technology can change how students learn, making it far more natural and intuitive.”

What Makes a Good Training Game?
The author Sivasailam Thiagarajan has identified what he considers to be two critical laws that support the use of gaming activities for effective learning. They are:
1. The law of emotional learning states that events that elicit emotions result in long-lasting learning. This law suggests that people learn best when they are happy or sad or angry and they do not learn well when they are in a state of boredom or apathy. The playful elements of gaming activities add powerful emotional elements.
2. The law of practice and feedback states that learners cannot master concepts and skills without repeated practice and relevant feedback. This law emphasizes that passive understanding of content does not guarantee recall and application.
Based on the laws stated above, the desired recipe for a successful game should result in something that evokes emotion (preferably fun or happiness) and can be completed with some repetition (without getting old) to reinforce learning objectives. In the realm of video gaming, the game is working if physiological changes are taking place—heart rate increases, breathing increases, sweating, etc.
Unlike game shows on TV where information seems very “trivial”, games used to support training offer the ability to bend the rules and encourage discussion. Whether your application or need is a team-based classroom style game or a one-on-one activity, there are several elements to be mindful of when choosing and building a game to get the most out of it. These include:

• Teams or every person for them self: —Team participation offers the opportunity for a collaboration of knowledge and the gathering of “skill sets” to solve a problem. This fosters teamwork and does not alienate or single-out someone for a lack of knowledge. Teams do, however, limit someone from “hiding-out in the back of the room” as all parties are accountable to their team. One-on-one “quiz” review or video simulation allows for individual performance to be tracked.
• Easy, Hard or Impossible—: The quality and level of difficulty of the content being covered should be selected carefully. If the questions are too easy or too difficult, participants check-out. It is a good practice to make sure you know a bit about those attending a training session and prepare the game accordingly. Are the participant’s novices in their knowledge or veterans in their vocation? A game that allows the a progression of content from simple to difficult usually works well and offers a “little something for everyone”. Having the flexibility to customize game content and other aspects of game-play is beneficial.
• Game-play dynamics and you, the Host—: The host is responsible for preparing and managing game play activities. This aspect is often overlooked and can make or break the game show experience. A host lacking in energy and not willing to foster participation will result in a less less-than than-entertaining time. The host is responsible for the pace of game play, being the “judge” in the event of a dispute and for ensuring that learning principles are reinforced (i.e. extended discussion on topics and reflection back on training completed).

Low-tech Alternatives
Although computer based game programs add extra visual and entertainment sizzle, not all games need to be high-tech. Low-tech alternatives exist and can be just as effective as a computer aid. Lego’s©, for instance, offer a great use of multi-colored and multi-shaped blocks to teach the art of communication between two people. With a common barrier between two participants, one describes the “structure” that is built to the other that cannot see it. The objective—to create the mirror image identical in shape, color and space. Not so easy unless you are listening and communicating properly. Want to sharpen your eye at hazard recognition—how about the age-old hazard hunt?. A photo is prepared (real or doctored) in which multiple hazards exist. The objective—identify all hazards. Twists on this activity include a team competition, timed for speed and extra points for those that can cite the regulatory standard that is being violated.

Conclusion
It appears that games, especially those that have a quick pace and are visually stimulating, speak well to the learning tendencies and needs of those younger persons entering the workforce today—no doubt groomed by Xbox, I-pods, the Internet, text messaging, etc. A properly constructed and used implemented game activity is an effective learning tool that results in increased retention of training content. Gaming activities add fun and entertainment to the training experience—something that everyone (from all generations) appreciates.
After all, Plato said “You can learn more about a man in an hour of play than in a year of conversation”.

About the author
Dan Hannan, CSP, CHMM—has been an EH&S professional for 18 years and has been providing training for nearly that long. Mr. Hannan is Vice President of Hilmerson Safety Learning Systems (HSLS). HSLS develops computer game-based learning tools to enhance safety training for the general and construction industries. More information about HSLS training tools can be found by going to www.hilmersonsls.com or by contacting Mr. Hannan at danhannan@yahoo.com.

Case Study: Unique Hospitality Training Method Leaves Them Wanting More

Industry Vet Mark Eggers Keeps Employees In The Know, When It Matters Most

As a veteran of the hospitality business, Mark Eggers knows how important customer service is. Now more than ever, the competition for the consumer buck is stiff and the hospitality experience overall has to be second to none. This all starts with training and development – the learning experience has to be engaging, cost-effective, and worthwhile, so it really can spell success. Some say “enjoyable training” is an oxymoron, but Eggers thinks the opposite, in part because of his key training tool –Gameshow Pro by LearningWare.

Eggers has been a trainer in the hospitality industry for more than 10 years. He uses Gameshow Pro, which puts his training curriculum in a game show format to encourage better engagement. In fact, he’s used Gameshow Pro the last four years, and he’s found it to be a lasting experience.

“It was great for the employees because you could take training material and make it more engaging with better knowledge retention. Many times the employees wanted to keep playing after we were done,” he said.

The hospitality industry is a several billion-dollar industry. A large part of its success relies on what employees take away from their training sessions and into their day-to-day roles. The ultimate goal is extraordinary customer service and a wonderful guest experience. That is why Eggers uses Gameshow Pro in his traditional classroom training regularly. It ensures knowledge retention with the trainees and rounds out the learning process.

“Gameshow Pro is like the cherry on top of the sundae. It adds the finishing touch to a session,” he said.

5 Game Show Myths that Simply aren’t True

Simply saying “Game Show” can evoke a strong reaction in your training classroom—or amongst peers and superiors. Because everyone has experience with game shows in some form, everyone comes to the classroom with their own vision of what a “game show” should be like. Unfortunately, a lot of the time this vision doesn’t compliment training, and leads people away from using game shows in a training situation. Fortunately, the most common “myths” or misconceptions associated with using game shows can be easily corrected.

Myth #1: Game Shows Wouldn’t Appeal to my Trainees.

Truth: So your trainees are serious. They’re white-collar executives, they’re blue-collar miners, they’re doctors, they’re temps, etc. That definitely doesn’t mean that they won’t like game shows. Game shows provide an opportunity for your trainees to express their knowledge, compete, socialize and take a break from the ordinary. We’ve seen a lot of groups that no one would have pegged for “game show contestants” really get into the game show. This is because game shows aren’t just a novelty—they appeal to the fun side of everyone—no matter how “serious” or “technical” the person.

Myth #2: Game Shows Won’t Work for my Subject.

Truth: Game shows work with almost any subject you can train. Game shows can be adapted to fit both fact-based and brainstorming content, as well as both hard and soft skills training. We’ve seen trainers use game shows for everything from (literally) rocket science to harassment training. Game shows can help you facilitate complex subjects by breaking them down into smaller “chunks” within the game show, and can aid in discussion of “sensitive” topics by breaking down barriers and allowing everyone to relax.

Myth #3: Game Shows Take Too Much Time to Create.

Truth: Initially the act of creating a game show can take up to a few hours. However, software (like Gameshow Pro) can make this process quicker by giving you templates with which to create your game. Once you’ve created a game or two, creation becomes faster. You may also “refresh” an already-created game by adding in new questions, adding a few extra elements to a question, or simply rearranging the question order. Gameshow Pro version 4’s Question Library allows you to drag-and-drop questions into a game show, meaning that creating a game can literally take as few as 5 minutes.

Myth #4: I Don’t Have Time for a Game Show in My Training.

Truth: Most trainers do some kind of content review—so why not make that review more effective? Your training is too important NOT to be remembered. Use the time when you would normally do an oral review to do a 5-15 minute game show. (In fact, when compared to oral reviews, game shows increase exam scores by over 60%.) Game shows don’t have to be long to be effective either. If you have 3-5 minutes, insert a few questions from the game show to review and perk up your trainees. You can either have the short segments stand alone, or you can add up the teams’ points from all the “mini” rounds to get a final score at the end of the training session.

Myth #5: We Just Can’t DO that Kind of Thing Here.

Truth: We’ve been taught that training is serious business. That’s absolutely true and it’s also why it’s so important to deliver training in a memorable way—even if the way in question is a bit unconventional. Game shows don’t have to be tacky, loud or over-the-top—they can be tailored to fit your company’s culture. Sometimes doing little things like changing the game’s name to “Review Activity” can change the perception of the game show within the company. Game shows don’t “fit” only a particular brand of training, they can be modified to fit YOUR training.

Bonus 6th Myth: I Can’t Be a Game Show Host.

Truth: As a trainer, you’re already the face of your company or department. You’re delivering content, ensuring compliance, and putting yourself “out there” every day, even if you’re not physically in front of trainees. Almost anyone can be an effective game show host whether they’re more introverted or more extroverted. The key is to play to your own style. If you’re not a flamboyant person then that’s not going to be the hosting style for you. If you REALLY don’t want to host the game show, you can create a game show and have one of your peers host, or you can even get trainees to take turns hosting questions and you can contribute training content as needed.

Using Game Shows for Brainstorming

The conventional way to play game shows in a training session is in a fast-paced, question-and-answer format. This is a great way to review material already covered, but game shows can also be used in a less traditional way: for brainstorming. Sometimes you want trainees to build on each other’s answers, think about questions, and come up with innovative ideas—and you can do this within the format of a game show.

Most game shows will need to have rule modifications in order to be good vehicles for brainstorming. Not all game shows are suitable for brainstorming even with modifications. We’ve found the following three game shows to be most amenable to a brainstorming format:

Family Feud:
Instead of going down a line of contestants and having each one give an individual answer, show the question to each team and allow them to brainstorm. Have them record and rank their possible answer options. An answering team reads through their communal list. If they can uncover all the answers before getting three strikes, they win the round; if not the other team can steal with one of their highest-ranked answers. After the round is over, ask teams to reveal their other brainstormed answers and discuss.

Tic-Tac-Toe:
Utilize one central question (or a few main questions) for every square instead of having a different question for each square. Allow teams to collaborate on an answer for a specified amount of time. Take turns picking a square, then revealing a brainstormed answer.


Who Wants to be a Millionaire?:
There are two ways to make this game into a brainstorming session. Option number one: both teams can brainstorm answers, and the team with the most options or the most relevant answers gets to move up the ladder. Option number two: require a certain number of answers for a question or topic. If the team achieves that number of reasonable answers, they reach the next rung of the ladder.

Questions for Brainstorming
Use open-ended questions for brainstorming as opposed to multiple choice or even short answer. An example of an open-ended brainstorming question could be, “What makes a good staff leader?”

It can be difficult to assign right or wrong answers to a brainstorming question, making scoring more complex. You can assign a suggested correct answer with a few words of encouragement; and then award points based on the number of relevant answers, or the thoroughness and effort put into answering a question. Points can also be awarded only to the team who comes up with the most answer options or has the most complete answers.